Day 6: McKenzie River Trail to Yachats, OR

July 4th, 2014

I didn't hesitate to get up early and drive to the McKenzie River Trail across the street. Most campers were quiet and only one other woman and her dog showed any signs of life.

I was the first car at the trail head where the McKenzie River Trail and the historic Old Santiam Wagon Road Trail, a trail used by carriages to get across the Cascades. It was cool here, and a slight fog still lingered overhead. The fog dissipated an hour later, but at the start I was slightly chilled. It was 6:20am. Sadie, of course, was ready to go. A pedestrian bridge visible from the trail head was the official start of the 26-mile-long river trail. I planned on only doing 5.5 miles of this; with a return trip this would amount to 11 miles on a relatively flat trail. The final mileage turned out to be more like 13 miles, with an added loop once I got to the waterfalls.

This river trail was pure joy. It starts out following a drainage creek into Clear Lake, a large pond that formed from lava flow and snow melt. There is plenty of lava flow visible on the eastern shores of this lake, while the more level and developed western side is taken by the Clear Lake Camp Resort. The eastern side is less traveled, and there is much to see from this perspective. Clear Lake truly deserves its name, as logs resting on the bottom are visible from above. Many hikers around this lake start and finish at the campground, covering 4.6 miles that I would consider a great morning hike. The eastern side is doable for mountain bikers who passed me later in the day.

The only sun-exposed section of this trail is the western shore of the lake. The rest is heavily shaded by Ponderosa and other pines. The McKenzie River Trail stays true to its name and stays along the rushing creek. Sadie was off-leash for most of this hike, only getting leashed when other dogs came on the scene, and that was not until we got to the first grandiose waterfall, the Sahalee Falls, with the just-as-impressive Koosah Falls closer to Carmen Reservoir. These falls are so powerful, that water mist gets on hikers on the trail. Water drops dangled from grass near the top of the falls.

We were tired by the time we hit the second waterfall. As beautiful as this trail is, I knew I had to turn back, and by now more people were on the trail. The crowds got even more intense as I neared the campsite. Mountain bikers were especially active this morning, followed by campers walking their dogs.

Sadie is normally a gentle dog, but she does react aggressively to certain other dogs. It's not always the smaller dogs she barks at. Sometimes she barks at female dogs, other times at male dogs both big and small. I try to keep her on a leash when we encounter another dog on a trail, just to be safe. Sadie ended up snapping at a gentle pit bull who passed us, and shortly thereafter was attacked by The Pomeranian from Hell. The owner apologized and told me his dog hated all other dogs. When that dog went into attack mode in the camp site as we were walking through (following the trail), I pulled on Sadie's blue harness to lift her off the ground. The owner snatched his dog at the last minute. Without that intervention, it could easily have been much worse, as the Pomeranian was running off-leash.

The western shore of Clear Lake was much busier now. People were out and about, cars were driving by, and dogs and kids were active. The trail partially went on pavement across the campground to re-connect on the north end of Clear Lake. We made it back to our van by 1pm. I felt depleted, but satisfied, to have seen so much beauty this morning. I can see why so many people were on this trail.

The rest of the drive across Oregon was less spectacular. The state road continued to meander around pines, streams, meadows, with an occasional covered bridge. The mountains had turned into tree-studded hills.

Eugene was next on my list, but once in the city, was less impressed. The many young, disheveled street artists reminded me of the same people who used to hang around downtown Santa Cruz, before they were kicked out a few years ago and relocated to Monterey's marina. While some of the musicians had talent, others were quite comical in the chalk art that resembled that of a Special Ed class. Had these young people no ambition? They were loitering and asking for money from passers-by, and when I photographed them, one young man became belligerent. Sorry Dude, if you hang around a public street, you are open to public scrutiny and that includes being photographed.

The area around Broadway in Eugene seemed like a nice enough area. This tree-lined downtown area had pubs and eateries and several coffee shops, but the many street "artists" and panhandlers turned me off. I opted to just drive toward the ocean, toward Florence. I had plenty of day light.

The drive to the ocean didn't take long at all. Eugene was already on the "other" side of the Cascades and I was rolling through more agricultural land now. I stayed on OR126, which meandered calmly across dairy farms and watersheds before ending in the coastal town of Florence and US101. It was 5:30pm and I still have several hours of daylight.

While the shops in the tourist area were busy and parking spaces were nil, I drove a bit further away to find a quiet spot to park, a north-shade side street so Sadie could stay away from the crowds and noise. She's let me know that she does not like urban walks, and a leash stresses her out. I made my walk a quick on, up and down the marina, past the city park where people brought their lawn chairs to wait for the fireworks, and the main street with the shops and restaurants. This was not a sleepy little town, but a bubbly little merchant town! Visitors were in their holiday spirit, and some even brought their dogs dressed in red, white and blue. I even saw runners dressed in costume running down the pier: Captain America, Lady Liberty...this was certainly a creative (and I'm sure rather "cool") costume for the breezy beach setting. I could have stayed here and joined the fun, but dreaded outgoing traffic after any celebration. The heavy crowd would make getting something to eat a chore.

Local law enforcement in Florence was heavy, which indicated to me that this town has a reputation for hard partyers. That was my ultimate reason for not staying in Florence. There were few hills here against the ocean and on a stormy day I can see the town getting hit hard by gale-force winds.

It was nice to be on the Pacific Ocean again. I will always have fond memories of both Pacific and Atlantic oceans (having lived near both in my army days) I just didn't have the tolerance to drive through the slowed traffic. Everyone was out today! And it was a Friday!

The wind made the temperatures along the ocean noticeably cooler. This was relief. Perhaps now I could sleep soundly and so could Sadie! I drove north, pulled over at the first public beach to see the view (there wasn't much), and even took time out to wash my hair from my secluded parking area. At least I could go into a holiday party with clean hair! The beach proved too windy and cold for me, and Sadie was only out long enough to pee in the cypress cove, but the flat terrain did not last.

Just north of this beach, the coastal hills reappeared. My odometer read 1999.6 miles driven since leaving home. I came across a popular roadside attraction: Sea Lion Caves, a commercially-run cliff-side attraction where for $14 an adult ($8 for kids 5-12) can take an elevator down to the shore to see sea lions. The large, busy parking lot to my right is what caught my eye first. I've seen nesting sea lions off the southern California coast, and didn't think it was a big deal to see them here in Oregon. People parked their cars and walked down to the visitor's hut to view animals with binoculars. Some walked inside, paid, and walked down the path to see the animals up close.

I had arrived at the parking lot just before 7pm and saw the place closed down while I was there. I wouldn't have paid $14 to see sea lions, and was surprised that there was even an admission fee at all to see something so spectacular. Visitors who were already down at the coast were slowly walking back up the paved trail, but no one else was allowed in. In the summer months I don't understand why admission can't last till 8pm, as there's decent sunlight for another hour. Online reviews say this place is so dark, that one can't take decent photos in the caves. Still, it was a serene place to stop at if just to enjoy the view. Little did I know that there were many more places along the coast to pull over to take in the views. Sea Lion Caves just happens to be the most expensive one!

There was more to see now as I drove north. Small spurs dropped dramatically into the ocean far below as the highway continued to meander north. I wanted to take it all in, and photograph it all. That, I learned, is impossible unless there's an infinite amount of time. The Hecheta Head Lighthouse Scenic vista was next, and I pulled off to see that, but ended up not paying attention and ended on Cape Creek Road, a single-lane, badly eroded paved road that meandered up the hill to what seemed Nowhere. While a great spot for dispersed camping (one small camper already staked claim to one level, open spot), this was not an ideal road for my van. The grade was getting too steep and the road too rutted. I turned around here and finally saw the main road I was to be on. I was now on state park land and my $80 National Parks Pass was invalid here. Nor could I see the famed lighthouse without hiking up a half-mile trail. This would have been a perfect hike had I more time, as this 1894 light house is the most-photographed in Oregon and the terrain here truly beautiful. I would have bought the state parks pass for the time I was in Oregon. Hecheta Head was definitely a place to see. I will make sure I see it on my next trip to Oregon and hike all the trails here. There will be a next trip.

The small artsy coastal town of Yachats was 26 miles away, nestled in a small bay with hillside cottages. Driving over a hill and seeing the view took my breath away. It was 8pm and I realized this is where I was going to spend July 4th. Even with the fading sunlight, I could see this was a pleasant little coastal town.

At first I parked right on the beach road where others were parked, but then realized I would be right in the action. I didn't want to stress Sadie out and gave up my prime real estate for a side street slightly up a hill with a view of the bay (and many, many electrical cables overhead). This was more to my liking. I was next to a bakery that offered a strong WiFi signal and stayed there for several hours. The fireworks didn't even start until 10pm, and what a great light show it was! For a small town, Yachats truly blew it all!

After the fireworks people continued to mingle in the streets. Out-of-towners left and clogged US101 in both directions, but locals stayed to listen to eclectic musicians, from esoteric dancers in glistening genie costumes while a long-haired older man banged on bongo drums, to flautists and fire twirlers. This wasn't exactly my idea of entertainment, but the crowds, especially the kids, were mesmerized.

An hour later music was still playing and some shops were closing. I was very tired, after that long hike along the McKenzie River Trail. The only quiet place I found that looked isolated was the dark side of a very big resort hotel's parking lot. This gave Sadie easy access to some grass she could pee on if the need arose. We both slept soundly.